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Adder
Adder is an adder who makes the journey from Farthing Wood to White Deer Park in both the books and the TV series. Adder is male in the books, but is female in the TV series. Adder shows very little emotion to the other animals and is seemingly uninterested in upholding the oath. However, Adder does help the other creatures on many occasions; such as saving Vixen from the hunt and distracting Jack while the other animals escape from the farm. Having originally isolated himself in the park, Adder grows fonder of the other animals' company over time and acts in a much more friendly manner late in the series. Books The Animals of Farthing Wood Adder is the last to arrive at the assembly (except for Toad) and shows very little interest in the proceedings, but starts to take interest when Toad tells the group about the edible frogs. On the journey he makes several sarcastic and unhelpful comments which causes the other animals to question his value to the group, but he is not interested in what they think of him. When the animals reach the swimming pool Weasel suspends him over the water to drink in his teeth, but drops him in the pool when the animals sense they are being watched. Fox eventually helps him out with a cane he finds in the garden. Adder struggles to cross the trunk road and is nearly run over, but the car turns at the last second and misses him. While the animals are trapped in the farm storeroom, Adder distracts the guard dog Jack allowing the others to tunnel their way out. The other animals leave him behind but Tawny Owl is sent back to collect him. At this point Adder begins to sense that Tawny Owl sees himself as a potential leader of the group and teases him about it for the rest of the journey. During the hunt, when the huntmaster is bearing down on Vixen and is about to strike her, Adder appears and sinks his teeth into the horse's leg, causing it to rear up and the huntmaster to fall to the ground. At the quarry Adder criticises Toad's decision to let the carp go free and later tries to catch the fish himself. Adder refuses to cross the motorway as he sees no way of making it across safely, but Whistler picks him up and carries him across. He is among the slower animals who is left behind after escaping the church, but Whistler is sent to collect them. When the animals reach the park Adder spends him time by the pond hoping to catch one of the edible frogs, but he never manages to catch a single one. In the Grip of Winter When winter starts to arrive Adder goes into hibernation with Toad and sleeps until spring arrives. When he resurfaces Adder tells the other animals that Toad's homing instinct must have caused him to head back towards Farthing Wood. He shows very little desire to join the other animals and make the party complete for the first time since the start of the winter, but he does agree to join them in celebrating their survival through the winter. Fox's Feud Adder attends the meeting to discuss the problems the animals are having with some of the park's inhabitants, but does not take much interest in proceedings and makes several sarcastic remarks. He later talks to Bold as the young cub is heading off towards Scarface's territory and, when Bold fails to return, he tells Hare to inform Fox that Bold has gone missing. While Fox and his family are searching For Bold, Adder tells The Great Stag what is happening and the stag intervenes in the feud, allowing Fox to safely leave Scarface's territory. Bold and Friendly are sent to tell Adder to kill Scarface, but they are not specific enough and Adder kills another fox, believing this is what Fox wanted him to do. When he learns of his mistake he goes into hiding and fasts to preserve his venom for Scarface, but he is forced into the sun to regulate his body temperature and is seen by Ranger. He tells Scarface, who comes after Adder and bites off the end of his tail as he tries to escape down a burrow. After Scarface leaves, Adder comes out again to sunbathe and tells Toad about his recent encounter. After this Adder waits by the stream for Scarface and sinks his teeth into him, releasing his full store of venom. Adder returns to watch Scarface die and heads off to inform the other animals of his triumph. Appearances Books *''The Animals of Farthing Wood'' *''In the Grip of Winter'' *''Fox's Feud'' *''The Siege of White Deer Park'' *''In the Path of the Storm'' *''Battle for the Park'' TV series *Series 1 *Series 2 *Series 3 Category:Book characters Category:TV characters Category:Adders